American Association of Variable Star Observers

Last updated

The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is an international nonprofit organization. Founded in 1911, the organization focuses on coordinating, analyzing, publishing, and archiving variable star observations made largely by amateur astronomers. [1] The AAVSO creates records that establish light curves depicting the variation in brightness of a star over time. The AAVSO makes these records available to professional astronomers, researchers, and educators.

Contents

Professional astronomers do not have the resources to monitor every variable star. Hence, astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can make significant contributions to research. [2] In 2011, the 100th year of the AAVSO's existence, the twenty-millionth variable star observation was received into their database. [3] The AAVSO International Database (AID) has stored over thirty-five million observations as of 2019. [4] The organization receives nearly 1,000,000 observations annually from an estimated amount of 2,000 professional and amateur observers, and is quoted regularly in scientific journals. [5] [6] [7] The International Variable Star Index (VSX) website, maintained by the AAVSO, is cataloging (as of November 2023) 2,277,999 variable stars. [8]

The AAVSO is also very active in education and public outreach. They routinely hold training workshops for citizen science and publish papers with amateurs as co-authors. In the 1990s, the AAVSO developed the Hands-On Astrophysics curriculum, now known as Variable Star Astronomy [9] (with support from the National Science Foundation [NSF]). In 2009, the AAVSO was awarded a three-year $800,000 grant from the NSF to run Citizen Sky, [10] a pro-am collaboration project examining the 2009-2011 eclipse of the star epsilon Aurigae. [11]

The AAVSO headquarters was originally located at the residence of its founder William T. Olcott in Norwich, Connecticut.

Minor Planet (8900) AAVSO is named after the organization. [12]

History

After AAVSO's incorporation in 1918, it unofficially moved to Harvard College Observatory, which later served as the official AAVSO headquarters (1931–1953). [13] Thereafter, it moved around Cambridge before their first building was purchased in 1985 - The Clinton B. Ford Astronomical Data and Research Center. [14] In 2007, the AAVSO purchased and moved into the recently vacated premises of Sky & Telescope magazine. [15]

As of September 16, 2022, the Executive Director of the AAVSO is Brian Kloppenborg. Before he assumed this role, Kathy Spirer worked in this capacity for nine months, following the resignation of Styliani ("Stella") Kafka -who was in charge from February 2015 till the ember months of 2021. She succeeded Arne Henden. The previous director of the AAVSO for many decades was Janet Mattei, who died in March 2004 of leukemia. [16]

AAVSO members in 1916, meeting at Harvard College Observatory. The two women in the photograph are Ida E. Woods (front row) and Annie Jump Cannon (behind Woods). AAVSO1916.png
AAVSO members in 1916, meeting at Harvard College Observatory. The two women in the photograph are Ida E. Woods (front row) and Annie Jump Cannon (behind Woods).

Current and former members

Recorders and Directors
Presidents [17]
Other members

The AAVSO currently has over 2,000 members and observers, with approximately half of them from outside the United States. This list only consists of those with Wikipedia pages.

Publications

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serpens</span> Constellation split into two non-contiguous parts

Serpens is a constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, it remains one of the 88 modern constellations designated by the International Astronomical Union. It is unique among the modern constellations in being split into two non-contiguous parts, Serpens Caput to the west and Serpens Cauda to the east. Between these two halves lies the constellation of Ophiuchus, the "Serpent-Bearer". In figurative representations, the body of the serpent is represented as passing behind Ophiuchus between Mu Serpentis in Serpens Caput and Nu Serpentis in Serpens Cauda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circinus</span> Constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere

Circinus is a small, faint constellation in the southern sky, first defined in 1756 by the French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille. Its name is Latin for compass, referring to the drafting tool used for drawing circles. Its brightest star is Alpha Circini, with an apparent magnitude of 3.19. Slightly variable, it is the brightest rapidly oscillating Ap star in the night sky. AX Circini is a Cepheid variable visible with the unaided eye, and BX Circini is a faint star thought to have been formed from the merger of two white dwarfs. Two sun-like stars have planetary systems: HD 134060 has two small planets, and HD 129445 has a Jupiter-like planet. Supernova SN 185 appeared in Circinus in 185 AD and was recorded by Chinese observers. Two novae have been observed more recently, in the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet Akyüz Mattei</span> Turkish-American astronomer

Janet Hanula Mattei was a Turkish-American astronomer who was the director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) from 1973 to 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorrit Hoffleit</span> American astronomer

Ellen Dorrit Hoffleit was an American senior research astronomer at Yale University. She is best known for her work in variable stars, astrometry, spectroscopy, meteors, and the Bright Star Catalog. She is also known for her mentorship of many young women and generations of astronomers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton B. Ford</span> American investor and musician

Clinton Banker Ford was an American investor, musician and amateur astronomer specializing in the observation of variable stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epsilon Aurigae</span> Multiple star system in the constellation of Auriga

Epsilon Aurigae is a multiple star system in the northern constellation of Auriga, the charioteer. It is an unusual eclipsing binary system comprising an F0 supergiant and a companion which is generally accepted to be a huge dark disk orbiting an unknown object, possibly a binary system of two small B-type stars. The distance to the system is still a subject of debate, but data from the Gaia spacecraft puts its distance at around 3,300 light years from Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T Coronae Borealis</span> Recurrent nova in the constellation Corona Borealis

T Coronae Borealis, nicknamed the Blaze Star, is a binary star and a recurrent nova about 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Corona Borealis. It was first discovered in outburst in 1866 by John Birmingham, though it had been observed earlier as a 10th magnitude star. It may have been observed in 1217 and in 1787 as well.

Margaret Walton Mayall was an American astronomer. She was the director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) from 1949 to 1973.

Michiel Daniel Overbeek, also known as Danie Overbeek, was a South African amateur astronomer and one of the most prolific variable star observers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward A. Halbach</span> American amateur astronomer

Edward A. Halbach was an American amateur astronomer and prolific variable star observer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S Coronae Borealis</span> Star in the constellation Corona Borealis

S Coronae Borealis is a Mira variable star in the constellation Corona Borealis. Its apparent magnitude varies between 5.3 and 13.6, with a period of 360 days—just under a year. Within the constellation, it lies to the west of Theta Coronae Borealis, and around 1 degree southeast of the eclipsing binary star U Coronae Borealis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R Virginis</span> Star in the constellation Virgo

R Virginis is a Mira variable in the constellation Virgo. Located approximately 530 parsecs (1,700 ly) distant, it varies between magnitudes 6.1 and 12.1 over a period of approximately 146 days. Its variable nature was discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding in 1809.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R Boötis</span> Star in the constellation Boötes

R Boötis is a variable star in the northern constellation of Boötes. Typically the star is too faint to be readily visible to the naked eye, with a brightness that fluctuates between apparent visual magnitudes of 9.98. The distance to this star is approximately 2,150 light years based on parallax measurements. It is drifting closer with a radial velocity of about −58 km/s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RX Andromedae</span> Cataclysmic variable star system in the constellation Andromeda

RX Andromedae is a variable star in the constellation of Andromeda. Although it is classified as a dwarf nova of the Z Camelopardalis (UGZ) type, it has shown low-luminosity periods typical of VY Sculptoris stars. However, for most of the time it varies from an apparent visual magnitude of 15.1 at minimum brightness to a magnitude of 10.2 at maximum brightness, with a period of approximately 13 days.

5 Serpentis is a wide binary star system in Serpens Caput, the western section of the equatorial constellation of Serpens. It is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.10. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 39.40±0.29 mas as viewed from Earth's orbit, it is located 83 light years away. The brighter member is an IAU radial velocity standard star, and it is moving away from the Sun with a heliocentric radial velocity of +54.3 km/s. The system made its closest approach to the Sun about 153,000 years ago at a separation of 68 ly (20.7 pc).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S Boötis</span>

S Boötis is a Mira variable in the constellation Boötes. It ranges between magnitudes 7.8 and 13.8 over a period of approximately 270 days. It is too faint to be seen with the naked eye, however when it is near maximum brightness it can be seen with binoculars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R Cancri</span> Variable star in the constellation Cancer

R Cancri is a Mira variable in the constellation Cancer. Located approximately 250 parsecs (830 ly) distant, it varies between magnitudes 6.07 and 12.3 over a period of approximately 357 days. At its brightest, it is very faintly visible to the naked eye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U Microscopii</span> Star in the constellation Microscopium

U Microscopii is a Mira variable star in the constellation Microscopium. It ranges from magnitude 7 to 14.4 over a period of 334 days. The Astronomical Society of Southern Africa in 2003 reported that observations of U Microscopii were very urgently needed as data on its light curve was incomplete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YZ Reticuli</span> 2020 Nova in the constellation Reticulum

YZ Reticuli, also known as Nova Reticuli 2020 was a naked eye nova in the constellation Reticulum discovered on July 15, 2020. Previously it was known as a VY Sculptoris type object with the designation MGAB-V207.

References

  1. ↑ Saladyga, M. (1999). "The "Pre-Embryonic" State of the AAVSO: Amateur Observers of Variable Stars in the United States From 1875 to 1911". Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers . 27 (2): 154–170. Bibcode:1999JAVSO..27..154S.
  2. ↑ Ferris, T. (2003). Seeing in the Dark: How Amateur Astronomers Are Discovering the Wonders of the Universe. Simon & Schuster. p. 54. ISBN   0-684-86580-7.
  3. ↑ Simonsen, M. (February 23, 2011). "20 Million Observations by Amateur Astronomers". Universe Today . Archived from the original on 2011-03-01. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
  4. ↑ "35 million points and counting! | aavso.org". www.aavso.org. Archived from the original on 2019-05-29. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  5. ↑ Percy, J. R.; Desjardins, A.; Yu, L.; Landis, H. J. (2002). "Small Amplitude Red Variables in the AAVSO Photoelectric Program: Light Curves and Periods". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific . 108: 139. Bibcode:1996PASP..108..139P. doi: 10.1086/133703 .
  6. ↑ Cannizzo, J. K. (2002). "The Accretion Disk Limit Cycle Model: Toward an Understanding of the Long-Term Behavior of SS Cygni". The Astrophysical Journal . 419: 318. Bibcode:1993ApJ...419..318C. doi:10.1086/173486. Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
  7. ↑ Kiss, L. L.; Szatmáry, K.; Cadmus, R. R. Jr.; Mattei, J. A. (1999). "Multiperiodicity in semiregular variables. I. General properties". Astronomy and Astrophysics . 346: 542–555. arXiv: astro-ph/9904128 . Bibcode:1999A&A...346..542K.
  8. ↑ "The International Variable Star Index (VSX)". www.aavso.org. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  9. ↑ "Variable Star Astronomy". Archived from the original on 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
  10. ↑ "Citizen Sky". Archived from the original on 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  11. ↑ "NSF.gov". Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  12. ↑ "(8900) AAVSO = 1995 UD2" (PDF). Minor Planet Circular . Minor Planet Center. 1 May 2003. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
  13. ↑ Williams, T. R.; Saladyga, M. (2011). Advancing Variable Star Astronomy - The Centennial History of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-51912-0.
  14. ↑ Clinton B. Ford Astronomical Data and Research Center Archived 2006-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ "AAVSO.org". Archived from the original on 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
  16. ↑ Williams, T. R.; Willson, L. A. (2004). "Obituary: Janet Akyüz Mattei, 1943-2004". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society . 36 (5): 1681–1682. Bibcode:2004BAAS...36.1681W.
  17. ↑ "Officers of the AAVSO since 1911". Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  18. ↑ Dorrit Hoffleit "The Maria Mitchell Observatory: For Astronomical Research and Public Enlightenment" Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers Volume 30, 2001, p70, AAVSO.org Archived 2009-01-09 at the Wayback Machine where her photograph from 1930 appears.
  19. ↑ "AAVSO: Part Four: The AAVSO and International Cooperation". Archived from the original on 2009-06-08. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  20. ↑ "John E. Bortle - 2013 Leslie Peltier Award". Archived from the original on 20 June 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.